Chapter 420: Flame Vulture
No choice—I had to whip up a fresh batch of Elixir of Life just to get by. There are four herbs needed for the potion. I rummaged through my satchel and quickly found three of them, but after searching for another four or five minutes, I realized with disappointment that the Blazegrass was all gone...
Just my luck—when it rains, it pours!
But soon, I started to feel waves of heat rolling in. The scorching air made my eyes light up—Blazegrass usually grows in hot places. It's a pretty common herb, so finding it shouldn't be hard.
Brushing the dust off my robe, I finally had a moment to take in my surroundings. It looked like a naturally formed cavern—huge and spacious. During my descent, I did some quick math; this place is about five thousand meters below the surface... But strangely, it's not dark at all.
Following the trail of heat, I walked forward for about ten minutes. What I saw next nearly knocked the breath out of me—a massive palace suspended in midair, held up by countless thick chains. The waves of heat were coming from beneath the palace.
But what really shook me wasn't the palace itself—it was the sheer scale of this construction. How much manpower and resources would it take to build something like this? Even at the height of the Third Dynasty, if the entire nation pitched in, it would still take at least ten years!
Carefully, I edged my way across one of the thick chains toward the floating palace. Waves of heat surged up from below, making me frown. I glanced down—nothing but boiling magma, radiating a terrifying temperature. After just a few seconds, the heat had soaked my robe with sweat and flushed my face.
The magical elements here aren't as chaotic as when I first landed, but the interference is still pretty intense. In this kind of environment, even someone like me—if I slipped and fell—would have a hard time making it out alive.
Huh?
A quick glance, and I made a discovery.
Floating in the boiling magma were four skeletons. These bones were unusual—they didn’t look human. After a closer look, I noticed a faint dark-gold shimmer on them, and judging by their size, the owners were probably only about a meter tall...
Ironborn Dwarves?
I frowned. I could confirm these were definitely Ironborn Dwarf skeletons. The Ironborn spent most of their time beside the forge, naturally resistant to high temperatures. Just looking at those four skeletons, you could tell—they’d lasted at least a thousand years, floating in magma, and still hadn’t melted.
But how did Ironborn Dwarves end up dying here...?
After all, this is inside Auckland...
Legend says the Ironborn Dwarves once enjoyed a golden age under the Nesser Dynasty. Back then, they served the Five-Colored Dragons, controlled the richest mineral deposits, and mastered the most advanced forging techniques. But with the fall of the Nesser Dynasty and the dragons’ retreat into the void, their era ended. These days, you almost never see Ironborn Dwarves in Northend—they’ve mostly retreated underground, rarely appearing before the world. Only at the most prestigious auctions in Northend do you occasionally see one or two Ironborn-forged artifacts, proof that the race isn’t truly extinct.
But then, what’s the story with those Ironborn skeletons below?
Could it be related to the floating palace?
The Ironborn are born master smiths, so it’s no surprise they were brought in to build this floating palace. But their deaths here—now that’s something I can’t figure out.
I kept moving along the chain, always watching the magma below. Sure enough, there were more Ironborn skeletons—not just the four I saw before. After a few minutes, I’d spotted more than a dozen...
Suddenly, a wave of heat surged up—a giant bird wreathed in flames burst from the magma below. With a piercing screech and a flap of its wings, it sent a barrage of fire toward me.
It was a Flame Vulture!
The sudden change startled me. Actually, I’d felt something strange the moment I stepped onto the chain, like I was being watched. But I couldn’t find anything, so I’d been careful these past few minutes. As soon as the Flame Vulture burst out, I understood—it’s a fire-type creature, hiding in the scorching magma. No wonder I hadn’t noticed it.
This Flame Vulture wasn’t very strong—about level thirty-one. Normally, I wouldn’t even pay attention to a beast at that level. But the environment here is brutal; magical elements are chaotic, which weakens my power. Plus, I’m still injured from the fall.
I lifted my staff, and three ice walls sprang up in front of me, blocking the flames. At the same time, the Wheel of Arcana rose behind me, unleashing a torrent of spells that swept toward the Flame Vulture. And then Andefa emerged from the Wheel, controlling it and launching a fierce barrage at the level 31 vulture.
Ever since Andefa got that drop of mutated black lizard blood, I have no idea what he did with it, but the Wheel of Arcana is definitely much stronger now. Just like Andefa said, it’s reached the level of a mid-tier True Spirit magical artifact!
The Flame Vulture, battered by the Wheel of Arcana, started looking desperate—its wingbeats slowed, and it tried to flee. Don’t be fooled by the low-level spells hitting it; each one packed a punch and did real damage. In less than five minutes, its flames had dimmed and its body was covered in wounds.
The exhausted Flame Vulture didn’t notice the three streaks of blue light flying at it—three frost spears. With a miserable screech, its flames snuffed out. Then, a giant magical hand grabbed it...
I bent down and carefully extracted the mana crystal from the Flame Vulture’s body.
But the instant I got my hands on the crystal, my expression turned strange. I stared thoughtfully at the mana crystal in my palm...
This mana crystal was just... bizarre.
The Flame Vulture’s combat strength was above level thirty, which meant its mana crystal should be at the Soul Crystal level...
Soul Crystals contain extremely pure mana—not only are they useful in all fields of alchemy, but even low-level mages can directly absorb their power.
But the crystal in my hand was anything but pure. Its mana was so chaotic that even I, with all my experience, couldn’t help but shake my head. If a low-level mage tried to absorb power from this thing, it’d be no different from drinking poison.
If that were all, it wouldn’t have made me lose my composure.
The Flame Vulture is a fire-type beast, so its mana crystal should only contain fire magic. But this crystal had not just fire—it had earth, water, and wind elements too!
What did that even mean...?
A single mana crystal with four elemental powers—even in my three-thousand-year future, I’d never heard of anything this outrageous.
I was curious—how did the Flame Vulture manage to form such a strange mana crystal?
While I was examining the crystal, Andefa’s voice suddenly rang out: "What the hell! What’s going on, Merlin, come take a look…"
I frowned and crouched down. The dead Flame Vulture’s fire had gone out, leaving its body pitch black. I followed Andefa’s gaze and spotted a barely noticeable scar on the vulture. After a closer look, I realized it was a stitched wound. Thinking about the strange crystal in my hand, I froze—a wild idea flashed through my mind…
Could it be that this mana crystal, with four elemental powers, was artificially created and then implanted into the Flame Vulture?
If this guess was true, then whoever did it was seriously insane…
But the more I thought about it, the more impossible it seemed. A mana crystal with four elements—how could anyone make that? And to implant it in a beast and keep it alive, while still being able to draw mana for spells? That’s not just hard—it’s almost impossible.
“Not only is the beast strange, but its mana crystal is weird too…” I frowned and handed the odd crystal to Andefa. Instantly, all three of Andefa’s bizarre faces showed deep shock.
“Thi-this…” Andefa was so stunned he could barely speak. After a pause, he said, “Merlin, haven’t you noticed how weird this place is? Those bones floating in the magma are almost all Ironborn Dwarves—I just don’t know why they died here…”
I nodded without speaking and continued forward.
Just as I was about to cross the chain and reach the floating palace, I suddenly noticed several herbs growing on the cliff wall below. My pupils shrank—it was Blazegrass, exactly what I needed.
But those Blazegrass plants weren’t easy to pick—they grew stubbornly on the sheer cliff, and I’d need to use Levitation to reach them. Normally, that wouldn’t be a problem for me, but right now, the magical elements are so chaotic that casting spells is risky. Failing most spells isn’t a big deal, but with Levitation, if I get hit by a surge of interference, I’ll drop straight into the magma below.